WARSAW: Energy major Chevron Corp says it will stop exploring for shale gas in Poland, a sector that has failed to live up to its early promise of transforming eastern Europe’s energy supplies.
Chevron’s Polish unit “has decided to discontinue shale gas operations in Poland as the opportunities here no longer compete favorably with other opportunities in Chevron’s global portfolio,” the company said in a statement.Exxon Mobil, Total and Marathon Oil have also stopped shale gas exploration in Poland over the past three years.
They and other energy firms originally were attracted by estimates of massive shale gas reserves in Poland.But since they launched exploration, the estimates have been downgraded, geological conditions for drilling have proved difficult and industry executives complain of uncertainty about government regulation.